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Vendor outlines AI-governance package, council asks about costs, procurement and data handling
Summary
Darwin AI presented an endpoint-based AI governance product and three customizable "launchpads." Representatives detailed features, deployment, and an all-inclusive $25,000 annual pricing proposal; council members raised implementation, procurement, and ROI questions.
Darwin AI representatives Dustin Heisler and Shelley Ballard presented an informational briefing to the Cheney City Council on April 28 outlining a municipal AI governance product that uses endpoint agents to detect embedded and browser-based AI and implements policy enforcement, redaction workflows and audit trails.
Heisler described the offering as two layers: "govern," which codifies policy and provides visibility into AI on employee devices, and custom "launchpads" to apply AI-assisted workflows (for example, redaction or RFP analysis). He told council the vendor's basic proposal priced the endpoint agent and three launchpads at $25,000 per year, inclusive of implementation, support and AI inference. He said the agent deploys via standard package tools (Intune), operates in a monitor mode initially, and checks policy every 10 minutes; clients may host data in their own cloud.
Council asked about procurement options, implementation cadence and realized savings. Heisler said Darwin typically provides a customer success manager, monthly updates and quarterly business reviews, and that some client use cases have shown the product could free the equivalent of part of an FTE for records and redaction tasks. Several council members said the presentation was informative and suggested the city define needs and consider an RFP/RFQ approach before selecting a vendor. Staff characterized the item as informational and noted budget constraints would determine timing for any purchase.
